


A Red Feather in a Gray World

by EclipseOfTheWild



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom
Genre: Anger, Angst, Because that's my life now, Bittersweet Ending, Blood, Death, Grief/Mourning, I'm Sorry, Just clarifying, Nightmares, None of the Links die, yup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 03:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20900897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclipseOfTheWild/pseuds/EclipseOfTheWild
Summary: "He only noticed the motionless loftwing on the ground, he only noticed the blood that spilled from his lifelong companion, he only noticed the way his soul was split in half and crushed in the same instant.He only noticed how his world seemed to shatter around him.Sky’s screams echoed throughout Skyloft."Aka: I'm a bad person and I'm sorry





	A Red Feather in a Gray World

The Links were hiking through Twilight’s Hyrule, having just set off from Ordon Village. They had stayed a few nights to recuperate and regain their energy after all the recent monster encounters. It was fairly peaceful, but the Links knew well enough that it wouldn’t last long.

Just then, as if on cue, Sky felt the ground shifting beneath them, the birds that were chirping overhead suddenly went silent, and the trees surrounding them seemed to fall away to reveal what he recognized to be his home, Skyloft.

Yet, it was off; something was wrong, _very_ wrong. Instead of the sunny skies that he used to, an unnatural darkness covered the floating island. Monsters ran down the paths, growling and screeching as they chased his fellow Skyloftians.

Loftwings were all soaring through the sky, trying to rescue the remaining people left on the ground.

It was chaotic. 

Not a word needed to be spoken between the heroes as they drew their swords and leapt into battle. Sky found himself alone as he ran, heading towards a particularly large group of monsters, who all appeared to be crowding around something.

Wasting no time, Sky leaped at the first monster, stabbing his sword straight into its head, pulling it out, and whipping around to attack the next one. This one was slightly more prepared, raising its sword up to block his. Sky grunted at the impact, his feet hitting the ground.

Disengaging the sword lock, he ducked underneath the monster’s blade, rushing forward and quickly ending the creature’s life. Each of the remaining monsters suffered a similar fate, dissolving away into darkness that faded away into nothingness.

Sky stopped for a moment to catch his breath when he heard a cry from nearby; it was a child. Alert, he scanned the area, looking down the path before spotting a large hole in the front of a house. Sky cautiously peeked in, only to see a little girl crying on the floor.

He sheathed his sword and approached her, gently touching her shoulder, making her jump slightly. 

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re safe now.” Sky reassured, “Let’s go find your parents, okay?”

The little girl nodded, eyes wide with terror and relief, and the two left the ruined house together. Sky looked up, seeing the loftwings flying around, but they didn’t seem to see him or the girl. He’d have to try to get to more open space.

Then, he heard a low growl from behind him. He quickly turned, drawing his sword once more. Standing before him was a monster he had never encountered before; he wasn’t even sure if he recalled it from one of the other Link’s adventures, or at least what they shared about them.

The thing was a large, black blob of some sort, it seemed to vaguely have a human shape, but it was mostly lost in the shadowy substance. Sky immediately fell into a protective stance, shielding the girl with his body, sword held aloft.

It didn’t attack him, like he expected, instead it feinted to the right, heading straight for the little girl. Sky jumped after it, slashing his sword into its side, causing black ooze poor out. It screeched angrily, turning and knocking him backwards.

He fell, landing on the ground, but he quickly pushed himself back up to attack again. Sky had to juggle protecting the girl from the monster and actually _attacking_ the monster, making the battle a lot harder than it would’ve been otherwise. Not to mention that the monster seemed a lot tougher than the others.

The thing’s left arm seemed to shift, morphing into a dark, jagged blade, it roared challengingly, making Sky’s eyes narrow.

As he went to once again defend the girl from the monster, it suddenly changed tactics and went to attack Sky, who was unprepared. Just as the monster went to strike down, something collided with him, sending him flying back.

He went to once again get back up, but something froze him in his tracks; a shrill bird cry echoed through the floating island, and not just any bird’s cry, it was a loftwing’s cry.

Sky looked up, expression filled with horror as he saw the monster’s blade cut across a familiar, red lofting’s body; _his_ loftwing’s body. The bright red bird fell to the ground, and something snapped in him. Red filled his vision, not like the beautiful feathers of his loftwing, but a deep crimson, a color of pure rage.

Through the fury induced haze, he could faintly see himself rise off the ground, he could feel himself yelling something at the monster, but his own words did not reach his ears. He saw as he leaped forward, sword skills forgotten, everything forgotten except the monster that stood before him.

He could feel the black ooze of the monster splatter onto him as he cut into it, ripping the thing to shreds, showing no mercy, and leaving no traces of it afterwards. The red faded, leaving only gray, everything was gray and lifeless; everything was lost to him.

Color, sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, everything was gray and dull. All except the red, the red remained; the red of the feathers that floated the ground, the red of the liquid that stained the path underneath. 

Sky did not notice when the battle ended, he did not notice when the other Links called for him, he did not notice when Time was shaking his shoulder, eyes filled with concern and panic.

He only noticed the motionless loftwing on the ground, he only noticed the blood that spilled from his lifelong companion, he only noticed the way his soul was split in half and crushed in the same instant.

He only noticed how his world seemed to shatter around him.

Sky’s screams echoed throughout Skyloft.

He stared dully at the bowl of broth that sat in front of him. It was probably delicious; after all, Wild had cooked it, but he knew that it would just taste like ash in his mouth. Sky sighed, setting the food aside. He already knew he wouldn’t eat anything; the others were just wasting food on him.

Sky knew the others were watching him, but he didn’t have the energy to care as he walked over to his bedroll, sitting down, staring at the ground.

Conflicting thoughts and feelings rushed through his heart and his mind. He felt so empty, so hollow, like a piece of his very being was missing, which, really, it was, yet at the same time his heart was ready to burst with the amount of emotions that swirled inside.

The world was in pieces around him, gray and lifeless as far as he could see. The only color that seemed to register was the vivid red that filled his mind, the red spilling across the ground, the red everywhere.

Red…

Red…

Red…

He blinked, before exhaling softly. Even if that moment replayed itself in his head over and over, it almost felt like a dream. Like it couldn’t possibly be real, yet he knew it was. Sky had felt the soft feathers of his friend that were coated in that horrible, red liquid.

He had seen the lifeless eyes that were wide with shock, he had smelled the coppery smell of blood, and he had heard his loftwing as it was struck. His loftwing was gone, he was…he was…

Sky couldn’t bear to finish the thought. He wanted to deny it, just a bit longer, even if it was only just a small part of him that could even deny it anymore. He pushed down the rising emotions, laying down and closing his eyes, trying to ignore the red that flashed through his mind.

His head rested on his pillow, the softness almost reminiscent of the soft feathers of-

Sky blocked out the memory of his other half, blocking out the image of his companion, and eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

_Sky was back in Skyloft, it looked like it was peaceful once more, no monsters in sight. Yet, everything was painted in shades of gray, it was dull, it was…empty? None of the residents of the floating island were roaming the paths like they usually did._

_Not even a single loftwing flew in the air above him; the sun that shined over him gave him no warmth. _

_Then, a flash of color rushed across his vision. _

_A single, red feather floated past his eyes, down to the ground. It landed on a red puddle, yet barely disturbing the liquid besides sending it flowing out further. Further out, it stretched, covering the floor, the walls, the sky, everything was red._

_His loftwing lay on the ground instead of the feather, eyes blank and dead, his world crumbled around him, everything fell away, the red fell away, the loftwing fell away, Skyloft fell away, until it was only nothing._

_Everything was nothing, everything was gone, his world was gone, his life was gone, even his soul was gone. _

_Sky hated the red, he hated the way it spread across the ground, the way it took so many lives when it was spilled from their wounds._

_Yet he loved the red, he loved the way it painted the sky as the sun set, how beautiful it looked on his precious loftwing._

_He despised it, yet he cherished it. _

_The grays of the nothingness were a comfort, almost like a curtain hiding reality, but why…_

_Why was that curtain stained red?_

Lifeless eyes stared up at the lifeless sky, Sky having just woken up. Tired as he was, he could still tell that it was the early hours of the morning. The only noise in the camp was the shifting and snoring of the others.

He sat up, yawning. It was a long time since he had been up so early, if anything he was usually the last one awake, but he knew that after the…incident, he probably wouldn’t find much sleep. Stretching, Sky found his way to his feet, silently leaving his bedroll to sit on a fallen log just outside of camp.

It was a nice day; he could admit it, yet at the same time it was overshadowed by this darkness that seemed to linger in his soul, or more accurately, what was left of his soul. The droplets of water that clung to the blades of grass were almost reminiscent of teardrops. The rough wood dug into his skin as he rested his hands on it, the sting nothing in comparison to the pain he already felt.

He absently wondered just how much physical pain would possibly compare to the pain of one’s soul being ripped in half. 

Birds chirped in the trees, happy and carefree. It was like it was yesterday when he could fly too, when he could leap from the edge of a cliff and know his loftwing would catch him.

Back then, it felt like he could do anything, that he could even reach the stars.

Now it was almost as if he was chained down by guilt, by grief, by all the emotions that plagued his heart. Everything swirled around in his head, weighing him down, keeping him firmly on the ground, when all he wanted to do was soar through the sky again, like he used to. 

Yet he couldn’t, he was forever stuck here, unable to move forward, unable to do anything but hold in the emotions that threatened to boil over. Sky sucked in a shaky breath, trying to distract himself from his thoughts.

As he stared up at the clouds, a flash of color passed over him, just like it had in his dream. It was red. Sky quickly focused his gaze on the color, seeing a small, red bird flying over. When it disappeared into the forest, it left behind a single, red feather.

Eyes wide, Sky watched as it slowly drifted to the ground, landing…_in a puddle of blood_.

He wasn’t sitting on the log anymore; he was standing on the familiar paths of Skyloft. Red was everywhere, red feathers, red blood, red vision, the gray was washed away and replaced with nothing but red. Red filled his mind, his heart, his broken soul. 

His loftwing was falling, falling into the red, falling, and falling. Sky felt himself falling with him, but they didn’t meet on the ground, he continued to fall, further and further. 

_Red, then gray, red, then gray_

_Life, then death, life, then death_

Gone, gone, gone, he was gone, he was never coming back. 

Sky gasped, falling onto the wet grass. His hands were shaking, his heartbeat was quick, and his anger and grief were ready to explode out of him. He needed to get away; he couldn’t let the others see him like this.

He scrambled to his feet, rushing into the woods.

_Gray, red, gray, red_

His fist connected with a tree, and he screamed. Again and again, he hit it again and again until his fists were red; he cried and cried until his tears ran dry. Everything just erupted all at once, his emotions a swirling storm inside of him.

Finally, he collapsed to the ground, drained, exhausted, and so alone. 

“Sky?” A voice called from behind him.

He whipped around, only to see Legend standing there.

The other boy held his hands up in a placating gesture, “It’s just me, calm down.”

Sky sighed, turning away, head bowed.

“You scared the shit out of everyone, you know, running out of camp so early in the morning,” Legend raised an eyebrow, “Want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“It’s…nothing.”

He frowned, “Bullshit.”

“It’s not any of your business anyways.” Sky met his gaze, glaring slightly.

“Maybe not, but what is my business is that something is hurting a good friend of mine, and I have a sneaking suspicion of what that particular thing is.”

“What do _you_ know of my suffering? What do you _you_ know of having your soul ripped in half and stomped into the ground? You know _nothing_ about how or what I feel.” Sky snapped.

Legend stared, “I may not have suffered in the same way, or to the same degree, but I know how it feels to have your soul crushed, to have your heart stabbed over and over in an endless cycle of pain and misery, I know what it’s like to _lose_ something, we all do.”

He sighed, moving closer to sit next to Sky, “And I know that there’s nothing that I could say to make you feel better, to make this pain go away, but you should at least know that you don’t have to carry this burden alone. I’m here for you, we’re all here for you, so don’t shut us out, okay?”

Legend waited, but the other boy didn’t reply, so he stood up, brushing the dirt from his tunic, “Look, I’ll give you some time alone, just come back when you’re ready.” He started to walk off, when a small voice stopped him.

“Stay…please…” Sky whispered brokenly.

He blinked, looking back at Sky, before nodding once and returning to his spot beside him. Almost immediately, Sky leaned over and hugged him tightly, much to Legend’s surprise. He tensed for a moment, before letting himself relax; Sky needed this right now, and he’ll be damned if he didn’t get the comfort he needed.

Legend wrapped an arm around Sky’s shoulder, pulling him closer, and the two sat there in the cool, autumn morning.

A single tear slipped down Sky’s face, as he stared ahead at the vibrant, green forest.

His fists were red and his heart was gray, but at least there were other colors that he could distract himself with, even just for a little while.


End file.
